


Take the Fall

by Nears_my_boytoy



Category: Psycho-Pass
Genre: Character Death, Flashbacks, Guilt, M/M, enforcer/then inspector, headcannon elaboration, hint of relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-09
Updated: 2016-08-09
Packaged: 2018-08-07 10:11:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7711057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nears_my_boytoy/pseuds/Nears_my_boytoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If he hadn't let Kagari go with Tsunemori and Kougami, he would still be here. </p><p>Based off of my headcannon, which you can find here: https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/the-one-time-he-isn't-on-his-team-and-he-dies</p><p>(Some hints of relationship, somewhat disfunctional and just angst).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Take the Fall

**Author's Note:**

> I made a headcannon on Tumblr about Ginoza being protective of Kagari and feeling guilt and regret for letting him go with Akane and Kougami the day his disappeared, for those who were too lazy to go to the provided link.
> 
> Here, I will elaborate while adding a bit of hints of gay here and there. If this is your extreme NOTP, I suggest not reading, but nothing bold will happen between the two, if you're still reading to read despite that.
> 
> This is kinda all over the place lmao, sorry for all my jumbled thoughts and ideas. I tried to space it out evenly.

Kagari was small, timid when Ginoza first met him. He could sense his anger at the world through the glass separating them, his eyes looked as if they hadn't held a proper expression in years. His hair hadn't seen the humid atmosphere of the outside world, it sat low on his head back then.

Ginoza was slightly older then, his hatred for latent criminals only solidified after his fellow Inspector's quick decline to an Enforcer. No fellow Inspector was with him then, he was alone. But in that moment, with Kagari opposite of him with his hands folded and his lap and his face a picture of unfortunate acceptance, Ginoza felt sorry for the guy.

He felt almost disgusted with himself as he said "We'd like you to come work for the MWPSB."

Kagari only nodded, barely looking up through his hair, which seemed to have not been groomed for quite some time. Ginoza was slightly surprised at his lack of reluctance, especially after he'd been informed of Kagari's tendency to get angry and impulsive easily, even going so far as to break his therapist's nose with his clipboard. Not to mention Kunizuka's reaction when he'd met with her for the first time. Not Kagari, he just seemed to be accepting of anything that happened without a second's thought. That was just as well for Ginoza.

The guards led Kagari back to his room, or rather, it looked like more of a cell than a proper room. Ginoza followed, feeling nervous seeing all the faces behind the various glass cells as he passed, but wouldn't be caught dead cowering at the sight of them.

Kagari gathered his things from his room emotionlessly, which only consisted of a few pairs of underwear and a stuffed bear. Was this all the company he'd been allowed all these years?

The administrator came along and gave him a change of clothes, the usual clothing fitting of a working enforcer, a white long sleeved shirt, a black jacket, black tie, black pants and a white belt. Kagari took them wordlessly. Ginoza watched, fascinated by the exchange, for whatever reason. 

Kagari was required to take a shower and change himself, as he was sort of smelly. They approached the shower rooms and Ginoza waited outside as Kagari entered, two guards on opposite sides of the door. He hoped he wouldn't have to make small talk, but by the looks of it, these men didn't seem to take any interest in him, so he stayed silent. His mind wandered to Kougami, who was still waiting in the car for him. He didn't mind that Kagari was taking awhile, he relished in the thought of making Kougami wait, since he was a relatively impatient person. 

After awhile, it became apparent that Kagari was taking a long time. One of the guards seemed impatient, and turned his body so he could peek in the room. Then he opened the door wider and looked like he was going to barge in. 

"Can I check on him?" Ginoza asked, catching himself by surprise. For some reason, unknown to him, he didn't want these scary men hussling Kagari along. He was on a schedule  a schedule he could care less about. 

The man nodded, allowing Ginoza to enter. He probably figured that if Kagari had any sort of weapon and was waiting to ambush him, they would hear it and come to his rescue. 

Ginoza was cautious, he wasn't stupid, after all. Kagari had broken his therapist's nose, after all, showing he could be impulsively violent. When Ginoza entered, dominator in hand however, the shower was still going and Kagari wasn't anywhere to be seen. 

Ginoza continued forward. "Kagari?" He called out, but heard no reply. He huffed. He had hardly the patience to be dealing with this right now, the only thing that kept him from not losing his cool was the fact that he could relish in the fact that he was making poor inconvenienced Kougami impatient. 

He called out again, and only heard a soft mumble this time. Slightly alarmed but more or less annoyed, Ginoza pushed open the curtain. The male body didn't make him specifically uncomfortable, however he could feel that he was blushing slightly. Kagari was crouched, sitting in the corner of the shower stall, so he couldn't see anything significant. 

The boy didn't look up, nor did he seem bothered that somebody had barged in on him when he was naked. He didn't seem to be interested in having an actual shower either, more so in just sitting still and letting the water pour over him. 

"Kagari, what are you doing?" He asked, though he tried to keep his voice less annoyed and more generally concerned. 

Kagari looked up at him, his hair sticking to his forehead and his eyes, but Ginoza could still see the almost dead look in his hazelnut eyes. He looked miserable, almost entirely hopeless. He said nothing in return. 

In that moment, Ginoza realized he'd aquired a soft spot for the new enforcer. He couldn't treat Kagari as he did other latent criminals, like society's garbage. Because by the look in Kagari's eyes that day, he'd already been treated as such far before Ginoza met him.

 

~~~~

 

After Ginoza had shown Kagari around the building, Kagari seemingly uncomfortable with his attire, adjusting the tie as often as he could, he made his attest to his hatred of the color white apparent. 

They were traveling through a corridor, the walls were white, and Ginoza soon realized shortly that Kagari wasn't following him anymore. He had lagged back, his face a mixed vision of panic and acceptance. He seemed to be trying to comprehend what he saw. 

"Kagari?" 

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kagari replied, straightening himself and giving Ginoza a shy smile. "I hate white, it reminds me of prison." 

Somehow, Ginoza didn't think he was joking as much as he was trying to portray it as one.

He opted to bring Kagari in a black shirt instead of a white one the next day. 

 

~~~~

 

It was only a few days that it took for Kagari to get settled. He was quiet, but he seemed to be constantly thinking, with no further input on his thoughts at all. After his spar with Kougami and a broken arm later, Kagari was showing himself to be a cocky, lighthearted young man, a far different version from what Ginoza had seen when he met him. He liked to believe that this was his regular behaviour that he couldn't portray in the isolation facility, and not just an act. 

Kagari's paperwork was just simply atrocious. Ginoza drilled him about it more than once, but no difference seem to have been made. He just opted to always have Kagari on his team so that even if his writing was terrible, Ginoza would know what he was referring to. It was easier that way, and easier to avoid Kougami and his father as well. 

Kagari was reluctant and slightly freaked out to be using a dominator, that much was obvious. Ginoza preferred to be there in case he made any mistakes, or had some sort of panic attack. He didn't know if he was prone to those. During a few missions, Kagari had trouble shooting a dominator at a criminal, Ginoza suspected it was because he knew it could be used on him just as easily. That might have freaked him out as well. Everyone expected him to yell or scold Kagari whenever he didn't properly do his job, but he didn't. Not even he was that vicious to yell at a new recruit so harshly. Not to mention he may have just been coddling the boy. He would never admit to it, though. 

Ginoza began to work in his distance about half a year after Kagari first arrived, though he still never let him off of his team. This was difficult having 4 Enforcers to look after, as he was the only Inspector. He often left 2 back at the office for field missions. He liked to leave Kagari out of it. Admittedly, he felt better when Kagari wasn't in danger. 

After awhile Kagari had an established relationship to him. He knew Ginoza liked to look after him, and Ginoza knew he knew, but it didn't bother Kagari so much as it delighted him. Ginoza was secretly glad for it. He had such a liking for Kagari that he couldn't possibly explain, and was glad that Kagari wasn't asking questions. 

 

~~~~

 

The day Inspector Tsunemori was introduced, Kagari had established he was as confident as ever by then. And somewhat of a womanizer, though he seemed to lack experience in that field. Ginoza didn't really understand why it bothered him as much as it did. He convinced himself it was because he was annoyed that Kagari wasn't focused  but he couldn't possibly be that butt-hurt about it if that were the case. 

"What?! They get the cutie and I get stuck with you?!" 

Ginoza turned and glared, and by Kagari's immediate silence and knowing look, he knew that he knew he'd struck a cord. He wandered after him in silence, a small conversation between him and Kunizuka that Ginoza didn't bother to listen to. He wished that Kagari couldn't sense how hurt he was, but he knew he could. He wouldn't let Kagari go with Tsunemori. She was a newbie, who knew what could go wrong. If Kagari ended up hurt, or worse, he'd never forgive himself. But as the anger and hurt boiled inside him, he almost wished he'd let Kagari go with them so he could gawk at Tsunemori.

Kagari didn't apologize, he was far too proud for it, and Ginoza couldn't be bothered to listen even if he wasn't. He trailed after him and barely separated himself from his side, an occasional "Gino...", to which Ginoza ignored. 

It was a few weeks after the incident and Ginoza still couldn't be bothered to drill Kagari about his paperwork, and that's how Kagari knew something was wrong. They never entirely made up after that. 

 

~~~~

 

Ginoza was yelling, he'd had an emotional overload. He was calling his enforcers society's trash, scum of the Earth. He was mad at Kougami, and more so his father. He remembered watching Kagari sit and listen, his face devoid of all emotion, but Ginoza, in the back of his mind knew Kagari hated it when people spoke about enforcers like they were nothing. Yet he was sitting here, acting like he'd heard it at least a million times before until it just didn't bother him anymore. He would bet a million dollars that most of it was directly from him. And that was quite possibly the worst feeling. 

 

~~~~

 

One day, after Ginoza caught word that Kagari had had Tsunemori in his room the night before for dinner, he caught sight of Kagari as he was typing a report. He was already looking at him. Ginoza watched the enforcer give him a wink, a wink in which he used anytime he was in the presence of a woman. He turned away, thinking about what had become of the last time he had been in love.

 

~~~~

 

For the first time when Kagari invited Ginoza over to his room for dinner, Ginoza didn't decline. He despised the idea of being in the Enforcer's chambers, but he wanted to experience what Tsunemori had, whether he was jealous or just curious.

Long story short, Kagari had gotten him drunk. In retrospect, he wasn't sure exactly how he'd managed it, since Kagari was rumoured to be an incredible lightweight and he was still fully functional, but he did, and so he learned how much of an emotional drunk Ginoza really was. After he'd spilled his guts out to him about the entire ordeal with Kougami, Kagari just stared at him with a sympathetic expression. Ginoza remembered thinking how ironic it was that Kagari was such a good listener, for someone so energetic and who seemed to never stop talking. Yet here he was, silent. 

"I'm sorry." Ginoza said, wiping his tears angrily and standing to his feet. 

"No." Kagari said, grabbing Ginoza's arm and then immediately retaliating, as if he thought he had no right to touch him. 

Ginoza sat back down again, and Kagari grappled him in a hug. 

"You just need somebody to treat you right." Kagari said, a serious expression to his voice that Ginoza wasn't at all used to. 

He shrugged in Kagari's hold. His arms were at his sides. Kagari smelled like cologne and green apple shampoo. He always smelled fruity, whereas Kougami always smelled like cigarette smoke and metal. He wondered why he was comparing the two. "Maybe I've no right to whatever's right." He whispered, his voice horse. 

Kagari pulled away, looking at him deeply. And then they were kissing. 

Ginoza couldn't comprehend it, he was too intoxicated with alcohol and this Enforcer he was so apparently taken with. His lips were moist, not dry or cracked, he was moving them awkwardly and it was apparent he had no idea what to do in the situation. Ginoza took lead, entangling their lips in what turned into a full out tongue war seconds later. 

They eventually pulled away, Kagari a bit more out of breath than Ginoza was, his mouth hanging open slightly and his eyes looked glazed. They kissed again. Ginoza hadn't been kissed in so long and nobody had treated him with such impulse nor admiration as Kagari did. He may have been underage when he first arrived, but he was an adult now, and Ginoza couldn't think of him as a kid brother anymore, he wasn't an equal, just somebody he had every aching impulse to protect. 

Ginoza awoke hungover and regretful. Neither him or Kagari were going to admit anything to each other, much less to himself. They went on as usual. They never spoke about what happened.

 

~~~~

 

Makishima was at large. The case was getting increasingly more difficult, and Ginoza increasingly more stressed. In most cases these days, Kagari just added to it rather than helped any. 

"I bet I could find Makishima with my razor sharp intelligence." Kagari bragged, to which Kunizuka rolled her eyes and Ginoza snorted. The rest hadn't heard. Usually Kagari's bragging wouldn't have bothered him, but today he was feeling particularity stressed and the situation was getting more urgent with every passing minute. 

"Kagari, will you just shut up and do your job?!" Ginoza snapped, to which everyone heard this time. 

"Ginoza." Masaoka said wearily, but he paid no mind. 

"It'd be more fun on Tsunemori's team." Kagari muttered, crossing his arms with a pout. 

Ginoza felt the anger inside him boil to the surface, he willed it not to get out of control, but he couldn't help what came next. "Fine, Kagari, you're with Tsunemori, Masaoka, you're with me." 

Kagari looked at him, obviously knowing he'd screwed up, especially since Ginoza currently preferred  _Masaoka_ over him. But he looked absolutely thrilled a second later, bouncing over to Kougami and following them away after Ginoza gave the teams instructions. Nobody argued, and Ginoza wasn't even bothered that his father was next to him, too concerned about Kagari and regretting what he'd just done. 

 

 

Awhile later, a call came in from Kougami. Ginoza answered, his blood ran cold with dread hearing his words. They were headed to the tower, apparently Makishima had lured them away so he could get to it. All he could think of was how dangerous it was, and Kagari was with them. 

"Wait for backup!" Ginoza ordered, but even as he said it, he knew Kougami wasn't going to listen, and would most likely convince Tsunemori that his method was the best, as he usually did. 

Worried, Ginoza called Kagari, for a reason he couldn't confirm, nor could his subordinates, who looked confused but didn't ask about it. 

"Hound 4." 

"Gino, hey. Do y'need my mad investigative skills to help you guys back there?" Kagari said. 

Ginoza felt ticked off yet again that Kagari seemed to think he was oh so powerful, and treating the situation like a complete joke as he always did. 

"No." Ginoza scoffed, his voice raising slightly, but he willed it down again. "Get over yourself, I don't need anything from the likes of you." He said it bitterly, muttering an angry "don't get distracted" before hanging up and ignoring his father's concerned gaze. He immediately regretted it after, but he wouldn't call again to apologize. As the lead Inspector, he wouldn't apologize to an enforcer. 

They were the last words he'd ever say to him. 

 

~~~~

 

Shion called Ginoza in a panic, saying that she'd been communicating with Kagari when she could no longer connect with him. This was all the more terrifying, because Shion was never panicked over anything. Ginoza was nearly at the building when he got it, and although he was sure Kunizuka and Masaoka could sense his anxiety, he didn't have the time to care. He tried calling Kagari, but to no avail. 

They arrived to find Makishima unconscious, Tsunemori and Kougami wounded, and Kagari was nowhere to be found. 

 

~~~~

 

For awhile, Ginoza really thought that Kagari had somehow run away. Because of what he had said to him, no doubt. He screamed at Kougami for letting him get away, for not waiting for backup, which had resulted in Kagari's disappearance. He screamed until he couldn't anymore, and Dime, who Kagari had loved to visit with, couldn't even cheer him up. The dog was confused by the enforcer's sudden absence, as he loved to visit with him every time Ginoza would let him. If Ginoza could explain to Dime why Kagari wouldn't be visiting him anymore, he wasn't sure he would want to anyways. The dog was lucky, if anything, to stay indifferent. But that's exactly how he felt, not knowing what had happened to Kagari. 

"He's gone! He's not coming back!" He couldn't count on one hand the times he'd screamed the words to Dime, as if he'd understand him, more to himself than anything. It was too crippling an idea to even imagine work without Kagari. Before the enforcer, work had been dull and sad, he was just getting over a recent heartbreak. But Kagari had come along and made work more interesting. It was a somewhat more lighthearted work environment, where the laughter didn't seem to end and everyone eventually started to feel like family. Kagari really was a valuable asset to the team. 

Ginoza wished, with all his heart that he hadn't taken Kagari's lighthearted approach to everything for granted. Now he found himself missing him so much that it was hard to stand the silence. He had gone out believing he wasn't appreciated, and that was what hurt the most about it all. It was his fault Kagari was gone. If he hadn't let Kagari go with Tsunemori and Kougami, he would still be here. Ginoza would take Kagari never forgiving him for his impulsive comment, just as long as he was still here. But there were no trade offs. The world was cruel like that. 

He eventually just figured that Kagari was dead. There was no way he could have lived, all the evidence pointed towards a framing, that he had been killed but somebody was trying to cover it up. He couldn't think about it too much, he felt his Hue levels rising because of it. 

If he was dead, he'd died thinking Ginoza didn't need him. Which was a lie. In a way, he did need him. He'd taught him to play video games until he was almost a pro, how to let loose once in awhile. He'd let him experience having a little brother for the first time, which was a true statement but just hurt for him to think about, his feelings jumbled- and what was the point of trying to figure them out now anyways? There was no point. Kagari would never know. 

Kagari was the most undeserving of it all. It was so unfair. For weeks Ginoza wished it was him instead. Anyone but Kagari, who'd had the cards of life dealt to him only to screw him over already. He would cry whenever he had a moment alone. Everyone was clearly distraught about it, that was easy enough to tell, but nobody could take the blame better than Ginoza. 

 

~~~~

 

Kagari's things still sit pretty on his desk, untouched after the weeks that pass. Nobody dared to move anything, for less of a sliver of hope that he might come back, and more of an unwillingness to let go what they'd known for so long. It was obvious he was gone for good, while all the while nobody really wanted to believe it. 

"We need to clean out Kagari's desk." Ginoza stated, one day. 

He immediately noticed the reluctance on the others' faces, Kunizuka wipping her head around to give a soft glare, yet not daring to defy anything he suggested. 

Kougami, on the other hand, was more than happy to. "They should stay, Gino. They're not doing anybody harm-" 

"No, this is ridiculous. That isn't Kagari's desk anymore, so his things can't be there." Ginoza said firmly,  _willing_ himself not to yell, to have a breakdown now. 

To his surprise, Kougami didn't argue. Ginoza figured that, in his heart he must have known that it was time as well. 

They cleaned out his desk that day, each of them taking something of Kagari's that reminded them of him. "Remember when you thought this was a real lizard in the office?" Kunizuka reminisced, holding Kagari's toy figurine of an iguana. Ginoza took his dinosaur figurines. He'd loved those. "You yelled at him for spending his money on this, remember?" Kougami said with a grin, taking his pink alien/robot figurine. Masaoka took his pink mug with two overlapping blue stripes covering it. "I remember he spilled all his coffee on the floor and broke his mug. This isn't even the original one, we had to get him a replica because he was so upset." He said with a chuckle. Tsunemori took his multi coloured pens. "He wrote notes on his reports with these." She remembered, smiling fondly as she hugged the pens to her chest. 

They left his jar of jellybeans, but the jellybeans stayed at the same amount. Nobody wanted to eat any of them, they didn't want the last thing left of Kagari to be gone just yet. 

 

~~~~

 

Ginoza never thought he'd have to see his father die in his arms, or, one of his arms, nor did he imagine that he'd be all that bothered if his father passed. He liked to think that Kagari was a factor for his change of heart, as well as his incurable hue. He could thank him for both those things. 

 

~~~~

 

Ginoza spoke to his father's grave, though he knew he should be crying, he was out of tears by now. He'd cried too many times to count, and just like his Psycho Pass, his inner water supply couldn't keep up. 

He used to despise latent criminals, and even more so despise the idea of becoming one. He didn't mind that Akane was in charge now though, she was strong and could surely handle it herself. He didn't mind so much that he was in the exact same position he had hated Kougami and his father for being in. He had half a mind to take Kagari's old room, before they cleared out all of his arcade games, but ultimately felt he was more at place in his father's old room. He hadn't known Kagari all that long, and he was the one responsible for his disappearance in the first place. 

"Kagari's dead." He said to Akane, a knowing tone lacing his voice. He wanted to hear her say it, what she really thought. He didn't want to be the only one who had yet to accept his ultimate fate, which the details of were still undetermined. After Kou fled, he prefered to believe that Kagari died rather than left him like everyone else seemed to. She said nothing. 

"I wish they'd given him a proper grave." He continued wistfully. He liked that his father was given a grave, despite being a latent criminal. He could at least go and speak to his grave and get a small sense that he might be listening. With Kagari, he had no grave, there was no trace of him at all. It was unfair, that he couldn't at least be given a memorial block of some sort. It felt like every sense of Kagari was gone, ripped away from him before he knew what happened or could prepare, though nothing could possibly prepare him for that. He missed him, everyone did, but there was nothing anyone could remember him by. That was the worst part, what caused Ginoza the most grief. 

And he wasn't ready for Kagari to be replaced. 

 

~~~~

 

"Everyone, this is Hinakawa Sho." 

Akane introduced the new Enforcer with a gentle pat on the back and a smile. He was quite timid, long, messy red hair hid his left eye, and he looked as if he might faint just from being introduced. He was nothing like Kagari, but Ginoza sensed in Hinakawa what he had in Kagari the first day he'd met him. Miserable acceptance. Maybe this Enforcer would break out of his shell same as Kagari had. 

As per usual, as soon as there were no recruits, a serious crime was happening at that very moment for their team to apprehend. A brilliant first example for newbies. They would be getting a new Inspector shortly as well. 

Akane split them into teams. Hinakawa and himself were with her. A new Enforcer, Togane, and Yayoi were to be with the new Inspector whenever she arrived. The enforcer, Hinakawa, slowly clambered towards him. He was tall, way taller than Kagari. 

"Hinakawa Sho, I'm Ginoza." He introduced himself, extending a metal hand. This surprised Hinakawa. 

"N-nice to meet you, sir." He said, his voice was sort of child like, not only because he had an unfortunate stammer. 

Ginoza shook his head, a warm smile taking form on his face. "No, I'm your equal, you can just call me Ginoza." He said. He thought of how Kagari started calling him "Gino-san" as soon as he had told him his name, and called Kougami "Kou-chan" when Kougami made the mistake of telling him to adress him a bit more formally. 

"Right, sorry, uh, Ginoza." Hinakawa said, sounding like saying someone's name sounded foreign to him. Clearly it would be awhile before any formalities came from the Enforcer. 

Akane gave a hand signal, signalling to go. From ahead, Ginoza caught gaze of who he assumed was the new Inspector. She was short, and looked to be younger than what she should have been. Beside him, he felt Hinakawa grow rigid. 

Once again, he felt the need to protect the younger Enforcer. He found it easier this go around, as he was an Enforcer himself and wasn't so scared of feeling sympathy for one. Hinakawa was clearly quite young, and looked absolutely scared out of his mind. Ginoza got a familiar feeling seeing it. Maybe he and Kagari weren't so different after all. 

"Stick close to me." Ginoza said with a welcoming smile, to which Hinakawa nodded and stepped less than an inch closer. Ginoza already felt that Hinakawa was a valuable edition to their team, even if their team was different now. Not everyone had to be Kagari, there was only one of him, after all. And Ginoza would always like the original the best. 

"You'll be safe with me." He promised. "I won't make the same mistake twice." 

 

 

 


End file.
